About This PhD Project

Project Description

Business ethics and CSR, at least its mainstream incarnations in teaching and textbooks, has received two critiques: one from the critical management tradition, another from the American tradition of pragmatist philosophy. The critical management critique often draws on European traditions of philosophy and sociology, whereas American pragmatism is utilized to redefine the normative basis for stakeholder engagement and the creation of responsible business practices. Both approaches have their limitations. CMS often does not manage to advance beyond critique, whereas the strategies and solutions generated by pragmatists typically show a lack of engagement with some of the legitimate issues raised by the CMS critique. The result is a standstill in the field of business ethics. The objective is to help overcoming this standstill, by exploring how the confrontation of the CMS and pragmatist traditions may advance both the theory and practice of business ethics. Is it possible to draw positive inspiration from the critiques emerging from poststructuralism and recent iterations of process philosophy, while at the same time being focused on reforming business practice in real terms? How could ethics and compliance programs and sustainability management within corporations be rethought from this combined perspective?